Economy Archive

Republicans on the House and Senate Budget committees are striving to craft fiscal 2016 budget resolutions tailored to win the support of their divergent GOP caucuses, but still similar enough to allow for compromise.

Thanks in part to past concerns that globalization could lead to double taxation, corporations have numerous techniques at their disposal to reduce their tax bills, including the placement of subsidiaries and spinoff holding companies in low-tax jurisdictions.

During the darkest days of the Great Recession, one of the lone bright spots was America’s energy industry. Increased oil and natural gas production powered the manufacturing renaissance that pulled our economy back from the brink.

Florists count on Valentine’s Day revenues much like other retailers count on Christmas — a good holiday can make or break a shop’s financial year. To capitalize on an expected increase in business every February, many florists will rent vans or moving trucks to supplement their fleets, move extra stock and make deliveries. Unfortunately, when they do so, florists are forced to pay discriminatory taxes on the trucks they rent.

Many of the hardest-working communities in America are in the Appalachian coal region that stretches from Ohio and Pennsylvania, to Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia. For decades, workers have given all of their daylight hours in the darkness of mines so their families and others across the country can keep their lights on. But for decades these communities have suffered economic decline, as widespread job losses have decimated cities and towns and left families with little support. Generations of coal miners have seen their jobs disappear, from 122,000 in 1985 to just 58,000 in 2012, a reality driven largely by market forces and inequities embedded in the coal market.

When managers of cargo terminals at 29 West Coast ports closed their facilities to ships last weekend, they opened the door to a new discussion about when the president can invoke powers under labor law to keep the country’s transportation networks running.

Mythological trolls — described as old and ugly creatures living under bridges or in caves — are known for one central feature: generally troublesome and injurious to human enterprise. Much of the same can be said for today’s patent troll — the dubious business entity again drawing the ire of Congress that exists solely to acquire patents and make claims of infringement in court.

The opening gambit by Senate Democrats on a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security gives a strong signal about how the party intends to handle its position as the minority on the Senate floor.

As the national debt continues to spiral, now at more than $17 trillion, Congress should be commended for investigating wastes of tax payer money such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America — both media organizations shown to have clearly gone off the rails, either working against U.S. allies or directly supporting our nation’s enemies. Perhaps the next target for Congress’ cross hairs should be the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The improving financial health of the Federal Housing Administration, partly the result of a recovering housing market, is giving the Obama administration room to take executive actions on affordable housing.

More than 100 cost-savings proposals, due out from the Heritage Foundation on Thursday, could provide ammunition for conservative lawmakers in coming debates over restructuring entitlement programs, addressing the post-sequester discretionary spending caps, reauthorizing the Highway Trust Fund and raising the debt limit.

Everyone knows Congress has an extremely low approval rating in the eyes of the American public. Yet, that rating is based on but a sliver of members of Congress covered by the news media and only a fraction their work. The media and the public are fixated on Congress’ legislative responsibilities and ignore legislators’ direct interactions with constituents, or their “customer service” work. Just think if we judged Amazon.com by its coverage in The New York Times instead of the services it delivers.

Democrats banded together Tuesday to block the Senate from considering a Homeland Security spending bill, leaving GOP leaders scrambling to find another path forward to challenge the president over immigration.

Lawmakers and congressional agencies are eyeing small jumps in fiscal 2016 legislative branch funding, even though President Barack Obama’s proposed budget includes billions in spending increases and a rollback of sequester cuts.

Natitude was a potent force last fall, and with every new season, Washington becomes more of a baseball town. Again. Once upon a time, the District was a madhouse for everything that happened between the foul lines. The Washington Senators, the town’s first franchise, became a team in 1901, one of the American League’s Original Eight, and captivated the mid-Atlantic with six decades of baseball magic. The team moved to Minneapolis for the 1961 season, and brought with it a young slugger named Harmon Killebrew.